Experience prevails in cycling epic

Luke Barfoot of Dorset’s Primera TeamJobs cycling team earned an eventful Totnes-Vire Two-Day stage victory, which was masterminded by former champion Steve Lampier.

With less than a minute covering the top 20 riders after the first two stages in Torbay, the scene was set for a no-quarter-given battle over the final 70-mile road race under cloudless skies at Hatherleigh (writes Dave Thomas).

The ‘yellow jersey’, and an advantage of 24 seconds over his nearest rival, was held by Exeter’s former national junior hill climb champion George Kimber - he had finished second in the opening closed circuit stage at Paignton’s Torbay Velopark and then won the short, sharp time trial up Oddicombe Hill on Saturday afternoon.

But Kimber was the only member of his Spirit Racing Team in the Mid-Devon CC promotion, and veteran ex-UK and European Pro Lampier was determined to test him to the limit.

The 41-year-old Cornishman, who won one of the toughest-ever Totnes-Vire races in 2015, asked his Primera teammates – they included 2024 winner Gabe Dellar - to put Kimber under pressure from the start of the final stage.

A couple of other young riders, also coached by Lampier, joined in the plan and the in-form Kimber was soon under pressure.

He manfully chased down a series of attacks between Hatherleigh, Halwill Junction and Okehampton, but he couldn’t keep doing it and he readily admitted, by the time he punctured with just over 20 miles to go, that he was beaten.

By then Barfoot, one of the most consistent riders in the South West, had gone clear with MDCC prospect James Pearcy and two more graduates from the host club - Piers Mahn, now with Halesowen CC), and Ben Meek (Reflex Nopinz).

Pearcy was eventually dropped, leaving Barfoot to pull away from Mahn and Meek in the closing stages and clinch overall victory.

Day One had seen a tyre-width win for Cameron McLaren (TAAP Kalas) after nearly an hour and a half of spirited racing at the Velopark, with Kimber just second and Thomas Doig (Primera TeamJobs) third.

All three earned time bonuses on the stage.

The margins were also small on Oddicombe Hill, although that is proving a popular part of the race.

Kimber powered up the climb in a minute 56 seconds, but as impressive as he looked, he was still vulnerable to the sort of sustained pressure that Lampier, Barfoot & Co had in store for him in Sunday’s final stage.

Results: Stage One – 1 McLaren 1.26.51, 2 Kimber st, Doig st; Stage Two – 1 Kimber 1min 56secs, 2 Sam Nisbet 2.00, 3 Ben Millar (both Reflex Nopinz) 2.01; Stage Three – 1 Luke Barfoot 2hrs 37 mins 34secs, 2 Mahn @7secs, 3 Meek @1min, 4 Thomas Gardner Uni of Exeter CC) @1.35, 5 Gordon Nisbet @1.51, 6 Gabriel Dellar @ 2.25.

Overall: 1 Barfoot 4.06.49, 2 Mahn @6secs, 3 Meek @48s, 4 Gardner @1.32, 5 Nisbet @1.37, 6 Millar @2.12.

Meanwhile in Spain, Torbay pro Harrison Wood (Anicolor-Tien21) won the King Of The Mountains jersey in the high-class Grand Prix Miguel Indurain.

Wood got into a quality breakaway that was only caught with 15 of the 204 kilometres to go, before fast-rising young Belgian star Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) powered to a solo victory on the run-in.

Wood, who eventually finished 82nd, said: “It was a very hard race, but we weren’t far off going all the way.

“I was definitely happy with my ride, although my legs exploded a bit near the end.”

Wood’s next target is expected to be the four-day Vuelta a Asturias (Apr 24-27).